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A spat over a Cat (the one in the Hat)
My generation didn’t see this coming, but we can learn from it
Writing in the Sunday, May 16 edition of The Washington Post, reporter Valerie Strauss reopens a discussion she had with Philip Nel, author of the 2017 book, “Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature and the Need for Diverse Books.” Strauss initiated a conversation with Nel shortly after his book came out, and then she reprised the conversation earlier this year, when, as Strauss writes, “…it was falsely reported that a Virginia school district had banned the books of Dr. Seuss, the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel.”
In her article, Strauss gives Nel an opportunity to discuss anew the politicization of racism in children’s books, and Nel opens his piece with this:
“Why not break up with your favorite racist childhood classics? Maybe doing so will break your heart a little. But, to quote a line attributed to Rumi (but which is probably not him), ‘You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.’ ”
Nel continues:
